Representing "The Other"

            Throughout history we have witnessed countless inhumane acts of warfare. While most of us cannot personally attest to experiencing the wrath of this brutality, it is crucial that we recognize real humans have committed some horrifying war crimes. We seem to forget that humans have the capability of doing evil. In the novel, Regarding the Pain of Others, Susan Sontag proclaims, “Let the atrocious images haunt us. Even if they are only tokens, and cannot possibly encompass most of the reality to which they refer, they still perform a vital function. The images say: This is what human beings are capable of doing – may volunteer to do, enthusiastically, self-righteously. Don’t forget” (p. 115). Sontag understands that still images as well as video footage cannot always capture the sheer terror experienced by those who suffered from cruel war crimes. However, she emphasizes how important it is that we witness these startling images so we never forget the malice that human beings may promote. I’m sure everyone has seen photographs of emaciated victims of the Holocaust who were starved and murdered in concentration camps. These images have so much power because they make viewers question, “How could anyone ever do that to another human being?” Images such as those from the Holocaust are instilled in our minds from the moment we first see them because they are so shocking. In Clint Eastwood’s film, “Letters from Iwo Jima,” we see two Japanese POWs shot to death by American marines after the Japanese men had surrendered. Under the third treaty concluded in 1929 by the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, it is illegal to torture a soldier who has surrendered. I would assume blasting a hole through a prisoner’s chest from point-blank range is considered torture, even if the victim died instantly. This scene shows that the Nazis weren’t the only military force to commit cruel and unusual war crimes. The common misconception that American soldiers have decent morals is easily defeated by this scene. Just because someone is an American does not mean he or she couldn’t do something evil. After reading Susan Sontag’s novel and watching Clint Eastwood’s film, we must always remember any human being, no matter their race or nationality can create evil. It is our job as witnesses to make sure no one has too much faith in the ethics of their nation’s armed forces.